Pearce Praise For Hughes

England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce has praised the form of Derby County youngster Will Hughes after an impressive start to the season that saw the former Nottingham Forest player call him up to his squad.

Hughes became the second youngest player to represent England at Under-21 level when he came on as a second half substitute against Northern Ireland in November with only Theo Walcott making his debut at a younger age. Having made his first start against Peterborough United in the last game of last season Hughes impressed in pre-season and has played a big part in The Rams first-team squad during this campaign. Having called the youngster up to his squad for the friendly at Bloomfield Road Pearce has admitted to being a keen admirer of the 17-year-old midfielder saying:

'I've been getting some great feedback about Will from Nigel at Derby and he's progressing really well in the Championship. He's playing games regularly, which is fantastic for such a young player, and he can be pleased with how he is performing. Will's technically a very sound player and he played very well when he came on for his under-21 debut at Blackpool a couple of weeks ago.'